A Glassful of Fresh Thinking

A Glassful of Fresh Thinking

Some people prefer the richness of whole milk. Others choose 1% or 2% – creamy, but not too heavy. And others opt for the light flavor and low calories of fat-free. But there’s one thing everyone agrees on. Milk has to be fresh – and not just kind of fresh. Kind of fresh milk usually fails the “sniff test” and gets poured down the drain. And wasted milk is wasted money.

One of our promises to BJ’s Members is to provide smart solutions that help them save money. To achieve this with Wellsley Farms Organic Milk, we had to solve the following dilemma: Milk has one of the shortest freshness windows of all food and drink, and as soon as it’s purchased, the expiration countdown begins. And that accelerates once the milk is opened.

A well-conceived plan for sourcing and packaging provided the answer. The first part of the solution was deciding to go with ultra-pasteurized milk. An unopened container of ultra-pasteurized has a shelf life of 40 – 50 days – versus traditional milk, which is good for 15 – 20 days.

Part two of the decision was to package a gallon of milk in two half-gallon containers, rather than in one large jug. By doing so, a second container can sit in the back of the refrigerator unopened for well over a month and still be perfectly fresh upon uncapping.

“The combination of going with ultra-pasteurized in half-gallon containers literally buys our Members more time. They’re not throwing milk away, and that makes it an even better value than it already is,” says BJ’s Dairy Buyer Rob Johnson.

Of course, Rob’s quick to point out that it’s what’s inside the packaging that counts most. “This milk is delicious. You can taste the freshness,” he says. That’s not just one man’s opinion. The plant that produces Wellsley Farms Organic Milk has won numerous quality and flavor awards.

Plus, as the carton reads, “The best milk comes from happy cows.” We believe it. That’s why we get our milk from cows that are free to roam in the great wide-open fields and moderate climates of Colorado and Texas. In fact, in addition to being certified USDA organic, Wellsley Farms has also earned the Animal Welfare Certification label from Validus – an agency that monitors operations to verify that both the animals and people who work with them are treated with compassion and respect.

Knowing that more and more Members are making the move to organic milk, a lot of thought and hard work go into delivering a high-quality product that fits BJ’s Members’ lives. “Members love the convenience of getting two half-gallon containers instead of a one-gallon bottle,” says Rob. “And they love the flavor, too.”